Contagious
by sammieex33
Summary: He wasn't easy on the eyes, that's for sure. He was a tough, mean bastard. But there was something about the way he carried himself; as if he could care less about how much of a scumbag he appeared to others made Beth Greene ponder... [ Rating may go up. Beth/Merle or if you prefer Merth or Meth ]
1. Bad News

He wasn't easy on the eyes, that's for sure. He was a tough, mean bastard. But there was something about the way he carried himself; as if he could care less about how much of a scumbag he appeared to others made Beth Greene ponder.

The blonde haired blue eyed teenager reflected upon this man's recent actions. He's not one to easily trust you see ... He was apart of the group at one point, but he was never well liked. Rick even had to handcuff him to a metal pole on top of a roof at a mall to keep anyone else from getting hurt, as he brutalized T-dog just minutes before. He's the one who had to saw off his own fucking hand on the same roof of that mall to escape the walkers as the rest abandoned him.

Yeah, that Merle Dixon, that bastard. The first word that came to Beth's mind was, believe it or not, bastard, in regards to Merle. The only reason he even had the slightest bit of acceptance at the prison was the fact that he was Daryl's older brother. Now, Daryl was; and is a good man. He pulls his weight around here, along with the rest of the group. How could Merle possibly benefit the group, she thought. This man beat Glenn within an inch of his life, and basically helped The Governor traumatize Maggie. If he truly wanted to stay at the prison, then he needed to change, and in the end prove himself that he is somehow beneficial, and still not on the side of The Governor.

Beth sighed with exhaustion as she carefully held baby Judith in her arms. She walked softly and quietly around the corridor as she tried to rock her to sleep while humming a soothing tune. Beth managed a half smile with worry still on her mind. Sometimes, she thought of Judith as her own daughter, as she was basically the primary caretaker ever since Lori passed and when Rick went on the crazy express for a while. Even though she might not be as tough as the others, she still tried to make herself useful.  
Any day, she thought. Any day The Governor could attack...

And that worried her to a great extent. She thought of the worst; but you can't blame her. You don't usually hope for the best in this sort of environment.  
The Governor would pick us off one by one and it would be Merle's fault. He would be the cause of it, she thought. Merle would be the death of us all...  
These morbid thoughts scared her, and she quickly snapped back into reality. She looked upon Judith, realizing she was asleep, and swiftly put her to bed.  
As she was coming down the stairs, her eyes bolted in the same direction from where there was shouting coming from the other cell block.

"Daddy what's happening?" Beth asked her father with worry in her voice. She sat next to him and he put his hand on her shoulder.  
Hershel reassured her "Don't worry Bethy, they're just having a bit of a disagreement, that's all."

Beth sighed and looked the other way. She figured out pretty quickly who was shouting, and the topic of the so called discussion.  
It just happened to be the lovely voices of Maggie, Glenn, and Rick discussing none other than the presence of Merle Dixon.  
Luckily, the Dixon brothers were on watch, and could not hear this pleasant conversation.

Beth turned to her father, and shook her head saying "Arguing isn't gonna solve nothin'." She rested her elbow on the table adding "Merle's bad news, Daddy. What does he have to prove? He's nothing but trouble, if you ask me."  
"Have faith Beth..." He says. Her thoughts wander off for a second. Really? Faith whilst in the midst of a zombie apocalypse? But her father reminded her of something important. "Remember what your mother taught you ... "

She knew what that meant. She nodded and she understood. She hugged her father and went to her cell to ease her mind.  
Her family as well as her were people of God. Although faith may be hard to come by given the situation, her mother's wise words made sense. She knew if she followed what her mother taught her, then everything would fall into place. She lay on her side facing the wall nuzzling her head into her pillow. She realized that despite the grizzly outside of Merle Dixon, there was a goodness inside of him.  
"There is a goodness inside of everyone." Her mother once said. Coming from her mother, Beth knew it was the truth. If maybe, somehow, some way, she could reach Merle in a way no one else has, she could keep the group safe, and ultimately, keep himself safe as well.


	2. Real eyes realize real lies

**Sorry for the short chapter! truthfully i've been studying for my SAT and I feel bad for those who have been waiting... I've rewritten this 100 times and now I have writers block xD Im really hoping for this to flow smoothly as possible, so they can finally have scenes together lol. If anyone has ideas for the next chapter please please please comment I'd love to hear feedback and such

Glenn and Maggie both kept their distance away from Merle. They seemed to despise him pretty much. Beth couldn't blame them. Especially at dinner, tensions rose. She glanced at the older Dixon from the next table down with caution. Merle was exchanging glances with Glenn, who just happened to be sitting next to Beth.

Maggie, who also happened to be sitting on the other side of Glenn, observed this and gently elbowed him with a blank expression on her face. Glenn noticed this and responded by just staring at his food and continued eating.

Daryl was neutral. He agreed on what Merle did was wrong, but Merle was blood. He's the only man he could ever count on, for the most part. Daryl looked at his brother briefly beside him, and lightly shook his head.

Beth, still sitting, glanced at Daryl, and then Merle once more.

Merle took note of this.

His cold, uninviting blue eyes met with the elegant, sky blues of Beth for only a second, as she was the first to carefully draw hers away.

Yeah, he's had his eyes on the pretty young blonde with them bright blue eyes of hers. Merle even had the nerve to bring up the touchy subject of the "availability" of the farmer's daughter with Daryl the other day while they were on watch.

"Whatcha say Darlene? How much ya wanna bet I can get her to give in to the ol' Dixon charm huh?" He said with a cackle. Daryl responded with a scoff and rolled his eyes. "You best stay away from her Merle. Yer' no good for her. Besides, you've got other things to worry 'bout..."

"I haven't got a clue whatcha sayin' boy." Merle said, trailing off, looking in the opposite direction. "Don't play dumb Merle. You know whatcha did to Glenn. It was tough tryin' ta even convince the others ta let ya come within fifty feet of this place." Daryl said with a serious tone, inching closer to Merle.

Merle responded without turning his head, with the intent to shoot a walker in the yard with his gun. "The chinaman had it comin'." Merle finished his statement with shot firing off into an unsuspecting walker.

Daryl shook his head. "Whatever Merle. The point I'm tryin' ta make is that one stupid move and yer' gone. Best prove yourself to the others so they're off yer' fuckin' back." Daryl waited for a response. He then added "That's all I gotta say ..."

A minute or two passed when Daryl finally managed to say with a flaring temper in his voice "Well Merle? Ya' gonna talk or what?"

That was when Merle finally snapped.

"A man like me ain't got nothin' to prove to those people! I know what they think of me, and ya' know what? I really don't give a damn!"

Merle lowered his voice.

"...I'm done here. Maybe I should've gone off without 'cha when I had the chance." Merle sneered as he locked his icy blue eyes upon the deep blues of his brothers.

"Go on then." Daryl replied with as much calmness as he could muster.

Merle himself seemed surprised with the amount of change that Daryl's attitude has been through. Officer Friendly must've softened him up, he thought. This argument would have gone down differently, had it been a few years ago, before the world went to shit.

Merle started heading towards the cells but Daryl's voice caught him in his tracks.

"Merle.."

"What?"

"I just want my brother back..."


End file.
